China owns 474 national nature reserves by end 2019

BEIJING -- China owned 474 national nature reserves at the end of 2019, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The reserves cover a total area of around 1 million square kilometers, accounting for about 10.4 percent of the country's land territory.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), the country established 46 new national nature reserves amid efforts to better protect water sources, soil, and biodiversity.

China also added more than 700 natural protected areas during the period, putting the total number at around 11,800.

The country designated Dinghu Mountain, which lies in southern Guangdong province, as its first nature reserve in 1956 to protect forests.